Things I have learned being an expat

You have to revise your concept of house. If you don't feel home where you live, you are nothing but a traveller.

Your social media will bring you nostalgia. You have to find a way to be in contact with friends spread around the world and know they are still your friends no matter what.

You realize that the more languages you speak, the less fluent you are. Italian and Spanish will forever collide.

You will change your mind regarding other cultures. One thing is meeting foreigners, another is always being the foreigner. As an expat you will be in their country, respect it even if you disagree.

You will learn how to be tolerant and even more than that, you will understand there is no standard for the word education. Each one was born and raised in a different environment. Too arrogant to believe your is the correct one.

You have to be able to absorb the good learnings and try as much as you can to remain immune from the bad. Do not allow yourself to become exactly what you complain.

Your horizons will be broadened as well as your ideas and ideals. Allow yourself to be surprised and change your mind as many times as you judge necessary. "Less like a square and more like a circle", they say.

You will, in fact, lose moments that would only be possible back to your hometown. Some birthday parties and marriages, and also borns and deaths. You might lose contacts if you let, and also your roots if you don't care.

Contradictorily, those people you left behind - those same people that are not losing all this things - they wanted to be like you. At least they wanted to have your courage and your extreme capacity to adapt. They wanted to manage changes with the mastery you do.

Those people, friends or not, might not say that to you. Mostly because people are more to judge than to praise. More to observe than to be part. Those people are inside the box.

Everything you learn from your experience is valuable. I am not saying it is easy, but I absolutely can ensure that it is worthy.

Fernanda Navarro, October 9th Protected content .From Brazil, now living in Chile.